A Chinese laundry detergent commercial is being called by some media outlets the “most racist ad” for depicting a paint-splattered black man getting stuffed into a washing machine and emerging as a spotless, pale Asian man.
The ad ends with a voiceover: “You only need one Qiaobi laundry detergent tablet to make a change.”
When the video surfaced on YouTube Thursday, the online reaction was swift:
The Los Angeles Times reported a Qiaobi sales agent said the ad had been running on local televisions since January.
“Why did foreigners say that [the ad was racist]?” said the agent, who declined to give her name to the newspaper. “We didn’t even notice [the racial angle]. It’s only an artistic exaggeration.”
Some online viewers seem to agree, saying that they thought the ad was funny.
The blog Shanghaiist pointed out the ad is seemingly a knock-off of a nine-year-old commercial for an Italian detergent using the exact same music and sound effects. That ad depicted a scrawny white man being thrown into a laundry machine to emerge as a muscular black man, with the slogan “Coloured is Better.”
The company’s vice president of branding, Li Jun told news site Campaign Asia-Pacific:
“The creative process was meant to add a bit of delight by using a little artistic exaggeration. It was merely for comic effect; there was no intention to stir up emotions or show disrespect to other nationalities.”
Jun added that Qiaobi wasn’t aware of the Italian ad until recently and declined to name the creative agency that produced their commercial.